Best Italian Sausage Soup

"This is one of my favorite soups and it always gets rave reviews! Salad, hard rolls and wine make a meal! You can make this 24 hours ahead of time without the noodles and wait to add the spinach noodles until soup is reheated for serving. Yummy! Serve topped with grated Parmesan!"

Directions

In a large pot, cook sausage over medium heat until brown. Remove with a slotted spoon, and drain on paper towels. Drain fat from pan, reserving 3 tablespoons.

Cook garlic and onion in reserved fat for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, wine, broth, basil, and oregano. Transfer to a slow cooker, and stir in sausage, zucchini, bell pepper, and parsley.

Cover, and cook on Low for 4 to 6 hours.

Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in boiling water until al dente, about 7 minutes. Drain water, and add pasta to the slow cooker. Simmer for a few minutes, and season with salt and pepper before serving.

Most Helpful Positive Review

Dec 05, 2010

This is gooood!!! Most of the people on here that said it wasn't good substituted ingredients. I did have to use a different pasta... but still used spinach pasta, just a different noodle. It turned out great. Thank you Perri for your recipe.

Most Helpful Critical Review

Sep 11, 2012

Italian vegetable soups (minestrone) lend themselves well to preparing with, and making use of, whatever vegetables you have on hand. Given Hubs and I are returning to Italy in a couple of days, this was very appropriate in more ways than just its name! In keeping with the utilitarian aspect of Italian soups I was lucky not to have to buy anything from the grocery store as I had zucchini, green peppers and fresh parsley in my garden. I also had Swiss chard, which was a fine addition. I removed the sausage from the casings and used a little less wine. This is hearty and flavorful and now that it’s prepared it will be a cinch to serve (again) with minimal clean-up whenever we are ready to sit down and eat. But I do have some criticisms of the recipe if prepared as written. First, using whole peeled tomatoes without crushing or chopping them wouldn’t work well. I don’t think you’d want or like a whole tomato (or two or three) in your soup bowl. Second, a pound of pasta is a LOT of pasta for this. Half that is plenty. And fettuccine is not a good choice for soup. I prepared this on the stove-top rather than the slow cooker, simmering for about an hour, then adding the zucchini the last 10 minutes, and finally the cooked pasta (I used shells and elbows to use up small amounts I had left of both) after that. Last but certainly not least, be sure to sprinkle your bowl of soup with freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.

This soup is unbelievable. I'm not a big soup fan, but it sounded like it'd be different and tasty - and it is. My 10 and 11 year olds had seconds and thirds (they didn't care for the zucchini - but they're kids!) Like some other reviewers, I thought there wasn't quite enough liquid, so I added about one more cup of beef broth and about 1/4 cup more of wine - just right for our taste. I also didn't use fettucine - thought it would be hard to consume in a soup, so instead I used spinach penne pasta - it was perfect. I made plenty so I gave some to neighbors and they all loved it. Thanks for the recipe.

Great but don't add too many noodles or they will soak up all the good juices and it turns into a stew. Break up the noodles also to make it easier to serve and eat. I also increased the basil. (After making this for the last couple of years, I have modified it a bit. I don't put in the pasta. Now I cook tortellinis separately and add into each bowl before ladling in the soup. Then I sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Wonderful. Loved by all.)

This is a wonderful soup and one I use very often for family and friends! Instead of the 16 ounces of fettucine I use 8 ounces of small seashell pasta or a bag of frozen O'Brien potatoes. Also, instead of the zucchini I have used spinach or kale. Always a hit! Thanks for sharing.

MMMMM....This reminds me of a soup served by a popular Italian restaurant chain. This ia GREAT in the crock pot!!!! I remove casing from sausage, use white wine instead of red (personal preference), and use cheese filled pasta. Our favorite addition is to sprinkle shredded mozzerella on top each serving and let it melt. Gooey and delish!!!! Dont forget the bread!

Delicious! Since we like spicy food, I used hot Italian sausage in place of the sweet. Next time I will follow another reviewer's suggestion and use elbow macaroni instead of fettucine. Even though I cut the fettucine noodles up, they still made the soup hard to spoon up. Thanks for sharing, Perri.

I have prepared this soup a few times for my family, and it is such a hit with them. The only recommendation I would make would be to add less red wine because the full cup and a half required can be over-powering.

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

**Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.

(-)Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.